Dallas attorney Jamey Newberg has been covering the Texas Rangers, from the big club down through the entire farm system, since 1998. His website can be found at www.newbergreport.com.

Thanksgiving table discussion points: Thad Bosley.

A Thad Bosley random note dump for you (because if I don’t do it, who will?) . . . .

Back in September, I wrote a column for MLB.com about the 1990 Oklahoma City 89ers, the Rangers’ AAA affiliate that won only 58 games, losing 87, but whose roster of players included future coaches Ron Washington, Steve Smith, Brad Arnsberg, Randy St. Claire, Wayne Rosenthal, John Russell, Chad Kreuter, Mike Berger, Steve Buechele, Scott Coolbaugh, Gary Green, Dave Engle, Nick Capra, and Darryl Motley, on a club managed by Steve Smith, who would go on to coach third base on Buck Showalter’s Rangers staff.

Several of those players saw time with the big club that season, where among their teammates were future owner Nolan Ryan, future agents Bobby Witt and Scott Chiamparino, future coaches Charlie Hough, Julio Franco, Bill Haselman, Mike Stanley, Pete Incaviglia, Mike Jeffcoat, Jack Daugherty, and Craig McMurtry, and two members of Washington’s current big league staff: Gary Pettis and Bosley, the Rangers’ new hitting coach.

Bosley was a member of the Oakland coaching staff from 1999 through May 2003, the first year as first base, outfield, and baserunning coach before he served as A’s hitting coach the next four years, each of which were playoff seasons (that all ended with first-round eliminations). Washington was the Oakland third base coach during Bosley’s entire tenure with the A’s.

Among the players that Bosley was traded with or for during his 14-year big league career were Bobby Bonds, Brian Downing, and, on the eve of the 1987 season, Jim Sundberg.

Bosley was a member at one point of a 1980s funk/soul/disco band called Ballplayers, along with fellow former Ranger Lenny Randle. Whether he’s more proud of that or his 3 for 10 with two walks in his career against Ryan is something only he can answer.

Bosley never faced Mike Maddux, as the two worked in opposite leagues for five overlapping seasons, prior to the onset of interleague play. He was 1 for 5 lifetime off Andy Hawkins.

Bosley played for Oklahoma City in 1989, a club on which the leading hitter was Coolbaugh, who reportedly interviewed this week for the position that Bosley was ultimately awarded.

Bosley’s final big league action was a pinch-hit appearance for Texas on May 31, 1990 (a 3-2-3 double-play ground ball induced by Red Sox closer Jeff Reardon that went Carlos Quintana to Tony Pena to Quintana). The Rangers’ hitting coach at the time was Tom Robson, who I believe is the only other man before Bosley to have both played for the Rangers and served as its hitting coach.

Bosley was released by Rangers GM Tom Grieve two days later, on June 2, 1990 (a move likely announced by new Vice President of Public Relations John Blake), which was two days before the club used its 10th-round draft pick on University of Montevallo outfielder Rusty Greer, who was recommended by Rangers area scout Rudy Terrasas, who was just fired as Mets scouting director by new GM Sandy Alderson, who was Oakland’s GM and then President through the end of the 1998 season, after which the A’s hired Bosley as a coach.

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